I’m always on the search for a great gourmet meat pie and sausage roll. Today I had to go get new glasses at Indooroopilly shopping centre. While I was there I walked down to Cabassi & Co, Artisan Butchers opposite Woolworths to see what meatporn was in the butcher window. Their adjacent Butcher’s Kitchen had a heap of pies and some enormous things that looked like meatloaf encased in flaky pastry. I assumed the giant meat cylinders were their version of sausage rolls.
I got chatting with the guy behind the counter and he informed me he made the pies ($7) and that they were all curry pies and that the large meat cylinders were beef and haloumi sausage rolls ($4.50). I mentioned my quest for the ultimate meat pie but I wasn’t going to have a curry pie due to them always being a disappointment. I ordered the sausage roll and while we were chatting he said he’d give me a taste of half of a pie as he had heaps left and they certainly weren’t going to be reheated and sold the next day.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the half pie. From a curry perspective, yes I wasn’t overly excited about the flavour. The pie however was one of the best constructed pies I’ve had in a long time. The large chunks of quality meat were cooked to a beautiful consistency. Some of it was stringing apart and the filling was predominantly meat with just enough gravy. The pastry was flaky and the half pie he handed to me retained it’s structural integrity through to the last bite without resorting to a dense pastry shell to do so.
I mentioned to him that just as I thought, the curry didn’t impress me (It wasn’t bad by any means in fact as spiced meat goes it was quite tasty but just a tad on the bland side for my liking), however if his other pies were made in the same manner as this was then I was definitely coming back! He thanked me for the feedback and I headed home with the sausage roll.
I did note that while I was chatting with him the burgers being made for some other customers looked absolutely fantastic. Quality ingredients, nice portions and freshly made, but it’s all about the taste so that’s for another day.
The picture doesn’t do it’s size justice. It’s about 6cm round by 8cm deep (2″ x 3″). This thing was so massive that I held off eating it till I got home and could weigh it. It came in at an impressive 350g (12oz)! At $4.50 it was also very well priced. Despite being an end of day product the centre was still extremely moist and the pastry was still quite flaky. The filling was tasty but with no particular spice or herb standing out, I think having a flavour leader could give it that something extra. The cheese had melted throughout and could still be tasted in some bites. Overall it would easily be in the top three store bought sausage rolls I’ve eaten.
I’m going to have to go back tomorrow because between the pretty girl waiting for her burger who kept smiling at me (most likely laughing at my overly enthusiastic conversation about pies with the guy behind the counter) and the large wall of aging meat hanging in the butcher window, I got extremely distracted and left the envelope containing my eyeglass prescription, receipt and appointment details sitting on the table. I rang when I got home and it’s being kept behind the counter for me to pick up which means while I’m retrieving it I’ll have to partake in more meat-pastry goodness!
I highly recommend you get there and grab a pie and/or sausage roll. They make a set amount and once sold out that’s it. The other items looked top quality and you can even treat yourself to some high grade meat from the butcher, pivot and walk over to the kitchen for it to be cooked for you!
The only downside is that it’s at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre which is chaos and mayhem for parking.
Cabassi & Co, Artisan Butchers
Shop 1065, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, 322 Moggill Rd
Indooroopilly, Queensland, Australia
Mon 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Tue 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Wed 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Thu 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Fri 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Sat 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sun 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
